Sun
by Canadian Belle
Summary: He wasn't going to miss out on his oportunity, sure as the universe tastes like raspberries. -Joint project with BugFan4Ever-
1. Alone

He has all the space he needs, uncomplicated, undisturbed. He can look at the stars and just think, not having to worry about a place to sleep or friends in the line of fire. He still worries, sometimes, about his old comrades and their misadventures; but here, in this place of solitude and quiet, he is wholly alone.

It's been three months since he last made a phone call to Los Angeles. It's been three months since he heard the familiar voice of his still best-friend and student. He hasn't said a word in three months, because there is no one to talk to. And he loves it that way.

So it's startling when the single phone he has in his small, well-crafted home rings and he hears it from where he lies silently on the grass out back. His eyes move away from the stars he holds so dear and look toward the building in wonder. His friends know he doesn't want to be disturbed and not to call him— and no one else had his number.

Fearing the worst— that one of his friends had perished, or was mortally injured in some way— he stands up from the dew-laden grass and jogs into the house to find the phone, tossed carelessly away under his simple bed.

When he wraps his hands around it, it takes him a moment of deep breathing to ready himself for whatever heinous news awaits. He presses the green button, and says, "Hello?"

The voice he hears is not one he was expecting. It is soft and kind, melodic and somewhat nervous. "_Larry?_" she says in little more than a whisper. "_Larry, it's been a long time._"

"It has," he says after a moment of awe passes. "It has indeed."

His life changes moments later.


	2. Confession

"Has something happened? Are you alright?" Larry whispers, his voice barely audible.

"_I'm fine, Larry. I just..._" her voice drifts off a little as she thinks of how to respond. "_I miss you. I... I'm sorry it took me this long to call..._"

"It's wonderful to hear your voice again, Megan. No matter the circumstance," Larry provides, his hands shaking a little as he holds the phone to his ear. "I've missed you too. It's been far too long, hasn't it?" She is silent on the other end for longer than was necessary.

"I'm sorry, Larry."

"For what, darling? Calling and disturbing my peace? Think nothing of it. I miss our intellectual conversations and—"

"_You have a son._"

Larry almost drops the phone in surprise. Instead, he ends up sitting down and perching himself on the edge of his bed so as not to fall over. He's quiet for many moments, his studious brain working overtime to process this new information.

Megan, more than two thousand miles away, waits for him to respond with slightly baited breath. It's been more than three years since she's seen him, and she's not sure if he's the same man she left in LA. She's not sure if he still as an aversion to children and the concept of having a family— the reason she's kept this from him for so long.

"I can't. That's not possible," Larry finally determines. "We only... and we were careful..." Megan sighs.

"_Not as careful as we thought. I didn't know I was pregnant until I was already in New York, and I knew how you felt about having kids..._"

He was trying to process the information, and found it more difficult than some of his old work at CalSci. He had once thought that Einstein had been correct in that one can only have one of two things: a family, or work in physics. But in recent months, with the time to think in solitude, he often wondered about the opportunities for love he missed out on; all the beautiful things that he could have been a part of. And that included having a family, and having obligations.

"I'm flabbergasted. Are you sure that your son...?"

"_Shares half your DNA? Yes Larry, I'm sure. You were the only one who it could be. And... he looks like you._"

"Can I see him?"

"_Do you want to?_"

"Of course I do! He's my son!" Larry stands once more, determined in his declaration. If he indeed had a son, he wasn't going to let him grow up without meeting his father, sure as the universe tastes like raspberries.

"_Then... when can you get here?_"


End file.
